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Call out for volunteer monitors

The 2017 Malleefowl monitor training dates have been announced. Sessions will be taking place in Kalgoorlie, Merredin, Dalwallinu and Ongerup over the next two months.

Malleefowl lay their eggs in huge mounds to incubate from heat of decomposing vegetation. They also heat soil in the sun and put it in the mound and can regularly move a tonne of soil in a day in the process.The chance of actually seeing a Malleefowl working the mound is a major (but definitely not guaranteed) draw card for volunteers.

Each year, the Malleefowl Recovery Team checks up on about 3500 Malleefowl mounds across Australia including 1350 in WA. Considering the mounds are located in some very remote spots, it represents a massive effort and is only possible with the help of hundreds of volunteers.

But before volunteers can head out into the bush, they have to be shown how to do the job. It involves using very modern equipment to GPS locate Malleefowl mounds and record a number of measurements. It also involves a lot of walking through bush. Our volunteers call it Bushwalking with a Purpose.

Liz Kington (WA Malleefowl Project Officer) is organising the training sessions that will be run by very experienced volunteer monitors from SA, Vic and WA. Liz said the sessions attract lots of people, mostly because Malleefowl are such amazing birds and people just love them.

On the serious side, the training ensures that monitoring is consistent across all states. The data is gathered and sent back to state coordinators (also volunteers) who upload it to a central database for analysis on how the species is going. This is a critical element in conserving this endangered bird.

To get involved in Malleefowl monitoring simply contact Liz Kington on 0417 996 719 or email at lizk@nationalmalleefowl.com.au.